Study on thalassotherapy for metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a growing health problem worldwide and its prevalence continues to increase. This study investigated whether a marine healing program can improve metabolic syndrome indicators and mental health in adults with metabolic syndrome or at risk of developing it.

The study, led by Woo-Jin Byeon, involved 30 participants who were assigned to either the experimental or control group. The duration of the study was 4 weeks. Both groups received metabolic syndrome management education, and the experimental group also participated in two marine healing programs. Anthropometric indicators, biochemical indicators and mental health indicators were recorded before and after the intervention.

The results show that the experimental group had significantly lower systolic blood pressure, triglycerides and body weight and higher levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and uric acid. The mental health indicators (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and quality of life measures) also showed an improvement. The comparison values before and after treatment between the experimental group and the control group showed that the experimental group achieved a significant weight reduction of 1.05 kg, while the control group gained 0.29 kg. In addition, HDL-C levels decreased by 0.91 mg/dL in the control group and increased by 3.7 mg/dL in the experimental group.

Overall, these results suggest that marine healing programs may improve indicators of metabolic syndrome, such as body weight and HDL-C, more effectively than the control treatment.